Journal lubricators



Oct. 6, 1959 Filed July 3, 1958 A. E. SCHAEFER JOURNAL LUBRICATQRS 3 Sheets-Sheet l 1 INVENTOR 14 gjgmamim @4 ATTORNEYi Oct. 6, 1959 A. E. SCHAEFER JOURNAL LUBRICATORS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July :5, 195

IN VEN TOR. 414 f. fa'zafi.

BY EM Oct. 6, 1959 A. E. scHAEFER 2,907,613

JOURNAL LUBRICATORS Filed July s, 1958 s Sheets-Sheet s INVE TOR ATTORNEY;

United States Patent JOURNAL LUBRICATORS Arthur E. Schaefer, New Hyde Park, N.Y., assiguor to Waugh Equipment Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Maine Application July 3, 1958, Serial No. 746,475 Claims. (Cl. 308-243) tact with the journal lose their effectiveness because of becoming dirty and glazed, the lubricator can be rearranged to bring a fresh pair of surfaces into operative position. The lubricator is tubular in form and has contact surfaces on both its outside and its inside, so that, after all surfaces on the outside of the lubricator have been used, the lubricator can be turned inside out to make a second set of surfaces available for use. The lubricator can thus be used for a long time before reconditioning is required.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be made to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a fragmentary vertical transverse sectional view through a journal box showing one form of the new lubricator installed beneath the journal;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view of the lubricator of Fig. 1 outside the journal box;

Fig. 3 is an end view of the lubricator of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 4--4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 4 but showing a modified construction;

Fig. 6 is a partial fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of a modified form of the lubricator;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing a second modified form of the lubricator; and

Fig. 8 is an end view of the lubricator of Fig. 7 in expanded condition.

The new lubricator in the form shown in Figs. 1-4, incl., comprises a jacket 10 of fibrous material capable of acting as a wick and preferably made of a woven fabric carrying a pile formed of loops 11 made by passing yarns through the fabric from one side in a tufting operation. The jacket is of tubular form and made of two plies of material, which are connected together by rows of stitching 12 to form a plurality of pockets 13. The jacket may be made of a single piece of material, which is folded upon itself to provide the two plies and has its ends connected by stitching 14 lying between a pair of the pockets. The fabric preferably has plain selvedge margins and the margins are secured together by sewing 15 to close the pockets at one end. If desired, each selvedge margin may be folded back upon itself with the folds secured together before the margins are sewn together. The jacket may also be made of separate pieces 16, 17 of tufted material with plain reversely folded margins connected at 18, as shown in Fig. 5.

In the form of the lubricator illustrated, there are 2,907,613 Patented Oct. 6, 1959 five pockets 13 and each pocket contains a resilient insert 19, which is resistant to oil attack and may be made of a synthetic elastomer, such as one of the snythetic rubbers. Preferably, the material used for the inserts is cellular with the cells connected so that each insert is porous. The inserts lit the pockets snugly, so that, in its normal condition, the jacket is held expanded and the lubricator has the tubular form shown in Fig. 2.

When the lubricator is to be installed, it is collapsed by pressure and one end is inserted beneath the journal. Preferably, the lubricator is placed in position with a pair of inserts 20, 21 lying at opposite sides of a vertical plane through the axis of the journal and, when the lubricator is in that position, other inserts 22, 23 lie on opposite sides of the plane and the remaining insert 24- lies directly below the journal axis. The pile tufts on opposed walls of the pockets within the lubricator then intermingle to form wicks 25, 26 which extend from the bottom of the lubricator to the part of the jacket in contact with the journal and lying between the pockets containing inserts 20, 21 at the top of the lubricator. The parts of the lubricator forming the upper walls of the pockets for the inserts 20, 21 engage the journal and the tufts on these walls supply oil to the journal.

After a period of use, the surfaces of the lubricator jacket in contact with the journal may become glazed by dirt, so that they are ineffective to deliver oil. When this occurs, the lubricator is removed from the box and, to facilitate this operation, the lubricator is provided with fabric straps 27, 28 sewed to the jacket and extending across the end of the lubricator. In installing the lubricator, the end with the straps is placed to lie close to the opening into the box and the lubricator can be removed by grasping the straps and pulling. Upon removal of the lubricator, it is turned through an angle of 72 and then replaced in the box. By thus turning the lubricator, the parts thereof, which form the top walls of the pockets containing the inserts 21, 23, for example, are brought into position to engage the journal and, since the loops on these parts have previously been out of contact with the journal, they are relatively free of dirt. Installed in its new position, the lubricator can be used for a further period and, when the second pair of contact surfaces become glazed, the lubricator can be removed, turned through an angle, and replaced to bring fresh surfaces into position.

The lubricator illustrated has five pairs of contact surfaces on its outer face and, when all these surfaces have become dirty, the lubricator can be removed and turned inside out. This provides another five pairs of clean contact surfaces, which can be placed a pair at a time in contact with the journal. Because of the large number of contact surfaces available, the lubricator can be employed for a long time without reconditioning.

While a jacket with pile tufts is desirable, it is not necessary and the jacket 29 of plain fabric shown in Fig. 6 may be employed. Such jacket affords the same large number of contact surfaces as the jacket 10 of pile fabric.

The simplest form of the new lubricator is shown in Figs. 7 and 8 as including a jacket 30 made of a woven fabric and of tubular form. The jacket is made of two plies 31, 32 of material for about of its circumference with the plies secured together by stitching to form a pair of longitudinal pockets 33, 34, while the remainder of the jacket is made of a single ply 35 of fabric. The fabric used for the plies forming the pockets is preferably one having plain selvedge margins and a pile formed of loops of yarn and the jacket is made with the pile surface facing outward, so that, through its arc containing the pockets, the tubular jacket has pile surfaceson both its inner and outer faces. The single ply of fabric may be a piece of plain material with its ends lying between the ends of the plies forming the pockets. and held in place by stitching. Each pocket contains a resilient insert 36 similar to the inserts 19 and the ends of the pockets are closed by stitching to hold the inserts in place. The lubricator is provided at one end with straps 37, 38 secured to the jacket and extending across it.

In the use of the lubricator of Figs. 7 and 8, it is collapsed and inserted into a journal box beneath the journal with the pockets and inserts at the top. The plain section 35 of the jacket than lies in contact with the pile surfaces inside the lubricator and with the inner surface of the bottom of the journal box. The pile loops, such as the loops 39, 40 and 41, 42, on the opposed Walls of the pockets intermingle to form wicks along which the oil travels to the journal from the bottom of the box. The pockets and inserts are of such size that, when the lubricator is installed as described, the inserts maintain the pile surfaces of the pockets against the journal to deliver oil thereto. After the surfaces in contact with the journal become dirty, the lubricator can be removed from the box by the straps, turned inside out, and replaced in the box. During the initial period of use, the plain section of the jacket has covered the pile surfaces inside the jacket against becoming dirty or worn by contact with the bottom of the box and, after being turned inside out and put back into the box, the lubricator can be used for a second period of service equal in length to the first before reconditioning is required.

' I claim: 7

1. A lubricator for use in the journal box of a railway car, which comprises a tubular jacket formed of an inner and an outer ply of pile fabric capable of acting as a-wick, the plies being connected together along spaced lines parallel to the axis of the jacket to provide an endless series of separate pockets extending lengthwise of the jacket, and an insert of resilient material. disposed in each pocket.

2. The lubricator of claim 1, in which the pile fabric has outwardly extending loops.

3. The lubricator of claim 1, in which the inserts are made of a porous cellular elastomer resistant to oil.

' 4. The lubricator of claim 1, in which the jacket is made of pile fabric having plain selvedge margins and the margins are connected to close the ends of the pockets.

5. The lubricator of claim 1, in which a strap is connected to the jacket at one end of the lubricator and extends across the opening through the jacket.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Runton Mar. 18-, 1958 

